Land of My Ancestors

If you won two free plane tickets, where would you go?

What a great prompt. There are lots of places I’d go but I’ll narrow it down for the prompt. I’d bring my family to Ireland so I’ll need one more ticket so all three of us can experience what Ireland has to offer. I am the daughter of an Irish immigrant, my mom. My dad was Irish too but born in the United States. I think I’ll need more than a few weeks so in this free ticket world, I also have unlimited time on my hands. On this trip, we’d rent a car and just plan each day as it comes traveling all over the country and interacting with it’s wonderful people.

Federal Stimulus #CORONAVIRUS

I wanted to share this article written by the tax professionals at my firm, Bowman & Company LLP in the hopes that it clears up anyone’s confusion about the United State’s Federal Stimulus that was adopted fir COVID-19. https://www.bowmanllp.com/blog/coronavirus-tax-relief?utm_content=123839380&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&hss_channel=fbp-309681022481903

Song Lyric Sunday – Two From A Star Is Born

Today I am participating in Song Lyric Sunday again.  You can join or read the posts of others at that link.  Today’s theme is songs in film.

To help me choose, I consulted Ranker and discovered that two Academy Award winning songs were from the same move title but forty-two years apart.  This being Evergreen by Barbara Streisand from 1976 and Shallow by Lady Gaga, et al in 2018.

Let’s explore each of these songs and the movies that gave them birth (Pun intended).

“Shallow” is a song from the 2018 film A Star Is Born, performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, written by Gaga with Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt, and produced by Gaga with Benjamin Rice. It is heard three times in the film, most prominently during a sequence when Cooper’s character Jackson Maine invites Gaga’s character Ally to perform it onstage with him.  The scene was filmed in front of a live audience at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. It received various accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Song, as well as four Grammy Awards.  Artist: Lady Gaga, Andrew Wyatt, Anthony Rossomando  Date Recorded: 2018  Albums: A Star Is Born  Producer: Lady Gaga, Benjamin Rice.

I enjoyed this film tremendously.  It is a very sad story and communicated the premise that when a star is born it is brilliant and overwhelming but at the same time, another must fade. It was a true metaphor for today’s superstar could be tomorrow’s has been.  Everyone knows that this story is a remake.  The 2018 version is the fourth since 1937.  The others were 1937 starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, 1954 with Judy Garland and James Mason and in 1976 with Barbara Stresiand and Kris Kristofferson.  For the latest version with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, I was drawn into the story and I believed the chemistry between these two actors.  Their performance at the Oscars was one of the best I’ve ever seen so I chose to use it in my post today.  I do not own the rights to this video or the lyrics.

Shallow song lyrics found on pinterest site EclecticBoHo

In 1976, the film, A Star is Born won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Evergreen” with the award shared by its songwriters, Streisand and Paul Williams.  I watched this film after my recent enjoyment of the 2018 version.  I may have seen it previously, but I am not sure.  It is generally the same story but is  presented within the context of the mid-1970s.  In this film, Barbara Streisand’s character is depicted as winning a Grammy and in reality, she won a Grammy for Song of the Year for Evergreen.  The video below is a live performance more recent than the 1970s.  I do not own the rights to it or the lyrics.  For me, Barbara Streisand was a star that was born but will never fade.

Evergreen
Love soft as an easy chair
Love fresh as the morning air
One love that is shared by two
I have found with you
Like a rose under the April snow
I was always certain love would grow
Love ageless and evergreen
Seldom seen by two
You and I will
Make each night the first
Everyday a beginning
Spirits rise and their dance is unrehearsed
They warm and excite us
‘Cause we have the brightest love
Two lights that shine as one
Morning glory and midnight sun
Time, we’ve learned to sail above
Time, won’t change the meaning of one love
Ageless and ever, evergreen
Source: LyricFind

Song Lyric Sunday – Castamere

This is the first time I am participating in Song Lyric Sunday so I hope you enjoy it.  Today’s theme is weddings and all that surrounds such a special event.

I originally looked for a song that communicated all that most of us think of when we think of weddings but chose to go with humor by choosing a parody from my favorite Renassaince Faire singing duo, Rowan and the Rose. I encourgage you to visit their website https://www.rowanandtherose.com/

I do not own the rights to this video but am sharing it to promote them as artists.  Filmed at the 2015 New Jersey Renaissance Faire and published on June 4, 2015 by Renaissance Road Trips.  Please enjoy, Castamere, written by Rowan and the Rose about the Red Wedding on Game of Thrones.

 

Who are Rowan and the Rose. The information abstracted from their website states that “Rowan & The Rose” is the musical duo of Arthur Rowan and Kelly Morris Rowan. They offer a mix of traditional celtic music, historical tunes, and original songs in the genre of Geek Folk. The two performers blend their voices in harmony with the aid of guitar, Irish whistle, drum, and the occasional hurdy-gurdy.

“Rowan & the Rose” began as a musical venture for Arthur and Kelly back in 2011. Having met at the PA Ren Faire (where they both performed – and started dating), they were looking for a way to continue their creativity as a team. With a few rented costumes and a guitar, they made their debut at the NJ Renaissance Faire during its second year of existence. Taking on the names of ‘Rowan the Bard’ and ‘Rose McGann’, and with only six songs to start… they began what has proved to be a very successful journey!

In their five year life-span, Rowan & the Rose have performed at numerous places: the New Jersey Renaissance Faire, the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, the Tennessee Renaissance Festival, the Lady of the Lakes Renaissance Festival, the Sarasota Medieval Fair, at the New York Public Library’s Family Medieval Gala, and as an opening act for Blackmore’s Night. They are currently based in Orlando, FL.

USS Hornet and #Apollo50th

I posted this on my other page, USS Hornet (CV-12), A Father’s Untold War Story.

USS Hornet (CV-12)-A Father's Untold War Story

It certainly is a milestone anniversary this week remembering Apollo 11 and the historic walk on the moon.  The USS Hornet is celebrating too.  It was on July 24, 1969 that the crew of the USS Hornet (CVS-12) conducted the recovery operation for the Apollo 11 capsule and the astronauts.

Members of the crew gather to watch the Apollo 11 space capsule being hoisted aboard the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CVS-12) after its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
Date 24 July 1969
Source U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1996.488.245.041
Author U.S. Navy

My father passed away a few months before this historic event.  I wonder if he had known that the USS Hornet was to play an important role in the space race.

With all the media this week about the mission, in this post I wanted to draw attention to the USS Hornet’s…

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2019 #AtoZChallenge – My Literary BFF Stark and Snow

MY LITERARY BFF

ARYA STARK AND JON SNOW

Throughout the month of April, you can catch up on my posts for this year’s challenge as well as all my alphabet offerings from previous years on my Blogging from A to Z page HERE.

When I read a great novel or a series of novels, sometimes I wish I could step into the book and join the world experienced by the characters. I just know that if I were there, I’d feel at home and contribute positively to the plot. I think it is those characters that keep me returning to works by the same author and even read those same novels over and over again.  For this year’s challenge, I plan to visit those characters we all know and love.  Those characters that we want to step off the page because we know that if they did, we’d be best friends forever.  Today, please meet Arya Stark and Jon Snow.

Arya Stark and Jon Snow

If you are reading this post on Monday, April 22, 2019, the second episode of the final season of Game of Thrones aired last night.  No spoilers here unless you haven’t watched the previous seasons and still plan to [YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED OF SPOILERS].  I know there are still people out there that haven’t seen the HBO television series or haven’t read the books.  No spoilers for the current series as I am writing this on Sunday, April 7th.
I have never read the novels and hadn’t heard of it until it was the topic around the proverbial watercooler at the office.  I didn’t subscribe to HBO at the time, so I had to wait until season one was released on DVD.  Once I started watching season one, I was hooked and couldn’t switch to reading the novels.  I tried but the world that George R. R. Martin created is so complex and the number of characters is so vast, I think a companion character dictionary would be needed.  There is a companion character guide to the novels.   There is also an app for IOS and possibly Android that includes 540 characters and 380 places.

George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones (Song of Ice and Fire Series)

For today’s post, I bring you Arya Stark and Jon Snow.  They are from the same family; however in Westeros when a child is born illegitimate, the child is not given the surname of his father but is given a name that depicts the area where the birth occurred.  In the story, Eddard “Ned” Stark, Arya’s father, claimed Jon as his son and since it was in the Northern lands of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, he is given the surname, Snow.

The Starks at Winterfell lined up for the Kings arrival

Arya Stark is the youngest daughter of Lord Eddard “Ned” Stark and Lady Catelyn Stark.  She is a tomboy who turns her back on the pursuits generally associated with females of Westeros.  Instead Arya seeks to learn how to swordfight and shoot an arrow.  Before Jon and Arya part ways early in the story, he gives her a gift.  It is a sword of a size fit for a girl of eleven years and made of the best material available for swords, Valyrian steel. She gives it a name, Needle.

Arya Stark and the gift from Jon Snow, a sword she names Needle

Arya is a girl that seeks to protect those she loves.  We see this protection of others in her treatment of her pet dire wolf, Nymeria.
Often in good stories, there is an event that is cataclysmic in shaping a character for the rest of the story.  For Arya Stark, this was watching her father’s beheading after he is falsely arrested for treason against the new king, Joffrey Baratheon.  Escaping the city, Arya begins her journey figuratively and actually towards her life plan.  She doesn’t know what that life will entail; but she has a list of persons of Westeros that have earned her wrath.  By the time Arya finds herself among family again, it is beyond George R. R. Martin’s published novels and Arya is a full fledged assasin.  She is home in Winterfell and in perfect position to play a role in the final chapter of this saga (Season 8 on HBO).
Jon Snow is the bastard that Eddard “Ned” Stark claimed as his son.  As a baby he was brought to Winterfell, the Stark homestead and raised among the other Stark children.  He was not favored by Ned’s wife, Catelyn because of all that his illegitimacy means.  Raised at Winterfell, he learned all the skills expected of a son of a great Lord but he also knows his place as a bastard.  It was these skills and his bastard status that lead him to join the Night’s Watch.

Jon Snow, Brandon Stark and Robb Stark at Wintefell

The Night’s Watch is a military order dedicated to holding the Wall, the immense fortification on the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms, defending the realm from what lies beyond the Wall.  After a rough start, Jon learns to think of the other members of the Night’s Watch as his brothers.  He develops a deep and lasting friendship with Samwell Tarly but he also makes enemies.

Though the Wall is very far north, the Night’s Watch do receive information by way of ravens from the south so Jon does learn of Ned’s beheading.  Through his work with the Night’s Watch, Jon finds himself among a group of people that live beyond the Wall.  The wildlings are considered enemies of Westeros.  Jon pretends to join them in order to detect their plans but falls in love with a wildling women, Ygritte.

He eventually returns to the Wall and wants the Night’s Watch to work together with the wildlings because Jon learned that the real threat to everyone is the White Walkers which are zombie-like creatures with glowing blue eyes.  This threat is unlimited becuase when persons die, they rise as White Walkers if the corpse is not set on fire.  At the Wall, Jon’s enemies turn most men of the Night’s Watch against him and eventually he is murdered by them.  This is not the end of Jon Snow because a witch-like woman named Melisandre brings him back to life.
Having been betrayed by his brotherhood, Jon returns to Winterfell to fight a threat to his family home and Sansa Stark, Arya’s sister.  At Wintefell, he defeats the threat, Sansa’s husband, Ramsay Bolton and gathers other northern leaders to tell them about the White Walkers.  They make him their King, the King of the North.

Sir Davos, Jon Snow, Sansa Stark

As the 7th season of the HBO series comes to a close, it is well beyond the published novels of George R. R. Martin.  We learn some things about Jon’s birth origins that some other characters know but Jon doesn’t. Under the goal of defeating the White Walkers, Jon travels to meet Daenerys Targaryen (tomorrows BFF post) and forms a multi-faceted alliance.  They have not arrived before the season ended but John and Daenerys with her dragons are on their way to Winterfell.
Meanwhile, the White Walker threat reveals itself in epic proportion at the Wall.  Season 8 on HBO should be epic.

2019 #AtoZChallenge – My Literary BFF Robin Hood

MY LITERARY BFF

ROBIN HOOD

Throughout the month of April, you can catch up on my posts for this year’s challenge as well as all my alphabet offerings from previous years on my Blogging from A to Z page HERE.

When I read a great novel or a series of novels, sometimes I wish I could step into the book and join the world experienced by the characters. I just know that if I were there, I’d feel at home and contribute positively to the plot. I think it is those characters that keep me returning to works by the same author and even read those same novels over and over again.  For this year’s challenge, I plan to visit those characters we all know and love.  Those characters that we want to step off the page because we know that if they did, we’d be best friends forever.  Today, please meet Robin Hood.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (with the original illustrations) by [Pyle, Howard

Long before The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown in Nottinghamshire, the 1883 novel by the American illustrator and writer Howard Pyle was published, the character Robin Hood was found in English folklore ballads dating as early as 1370; however it is from Howard Pyle that our modern experience with the hero outlaw is derived.  Consisting of a series of episodes in the story of the English outlaw Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, Pyle compiled traditional material into a coherent narrative in a colorful, invented “old English” idiom that preserves some flavor of the ballads, and adapts it for children. The novel is notable for taking the subject of Robin Hood, which had been increasingly popular through the 19th century, in a new direction that influenced later writers, artists, and filmmakers through the next century.

The plot of Pyles novel follows Robin Hood as he becomes an outlaw after a conflict with foresters, through his many adventures and run ins with the law. Each chapter tells a different tale of Robin as he recruits Merry Men, resists the authorities, and aids his fellow man. The popular stories of Little John defeating Robin in a fight with staffs, of Robin’s besting at the hands of Friar Tuck, and of his collusion with Allan-a-Dale all appear. In the end, Robin and his men are pardoned by King Richard the Lionheart and his band are incorporated into the king’s retinue, much to the dismay of the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Who is Robin Hood?
Robin Hood, the protagonist of the story is an excellent archer and swordsman. Though his background is not clearly set, all legends establish that he is a famous English outlaw, and is known to rob from the rich and unworthy and use the money to help the poor and needy. He is loved by all people except for a select few enemies.  Among them is the Sheriff of Nottingham, and due to the nature of his job, is a natural enemy to an outlaw.
Robin Hood is often depicted as wearing Lincoln Green and wears either a feathered hat or a hood. He is most often with his trusty weapon, his longbow. Robin lives in either Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire or Barnsdale in Yorkshire. Robin is also a master of disguise and uses it a lot to either save his friends or to irk his enemies.

Robin Hood is not a typical hero. He is an outlaw which is more often the antagonist in a story.  Robin doesn’t always win the fights that he picks, and oftentimes gets overpowered by his opponent. Robin Hood is not without heroic traits. Like many heroes, Robin has  band of men that are loyal to him, known as the Merry Men. This group of men include Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, Much the Miller’s Son, Alan a Dale, and of course, Maid Marian, his true love. Although Robin is a criminal, he is known to steal from the rich and give to the poor, which many find a heroic act. He is also very loyal in his actions. Like many heroes, Robin has a specialty, and that is archery. He is a famous champion archer, which is shown in this story, and his skills often come in handy in his many legends.

The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938

Robin Hood is not an epic hero. His birth and origin is highly debated and come from various different sources with vastly different stories, and he doesn’t receive supernatural aid in any of his endeavors. Also, he does not venture into the underworld or suffer from an unhealable wound; he dies from a mix of illness and betrayal from his cousin, the Prioress of Kirklees. Nor is Robin extraordinarily strong; he is just an ordinary man that tries to do good deeds and hide from the law. One trait he does share with the epic hero, though, is that he sometimes embarks on journeys and quests, but they are oftentimes very small compared to other epic heroes.
So that is Robin Hood.  Do you want to be his friend and join his Merry Men. I think you do as he is legend.
If you are interested in some of the original ballads about Robin Hood that were the inspiration for Howard Pyles novels, just google Robin Hood Ballads to find some in their entirety.
If you are interested in reading more about Robin Hood, I recommend the website Robin Hood — Bold Outlaw of Barnsdale and Sherwood

2019 #AtoZChallenge – My Literary BFF Q

MY LITERARY BFF

Q

Throughout the month of April, you can catch up on my posts for this year’s challenge as well as all my alphabet offerings from previous years on my Blogging from A to Z page HERE.

When I read a great novel or a series of novels, sometimes I wish I could step into the book and join the world experienced by the characters. I just know that if I were there, I’d feel at home and contribute positively to the plot. I think it is those characters that keep me returning to works by the same author and even read those same novels over and over again.  For this year’s challenge, I plan to visit those characters we all know and love.  Those characters that we want to step off the page because we know that if they did, we’d be best friends forever.  Today, please meet Q.

When it comes to the James Bond films, six actors have held the role of Q since 1962; however there is no such character in Ian Flemings novels, only Q Branch.

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Q stands for Quartermaster which is a job title rather than a name. He is the head of Q Branch (or later Q Division), the fictional research and development division of the British Secret Service.  Q has appeared in 21 of the 24 Eon Productions’s James Bond films, the exceptions being Live and Let Die, the 2006 Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. The character was also featured in both non-Eon Bond films, Casino Royale (1967) and Never Say Never Again (1983).

Charles Fraser-Smith is widely credited as the inspiration for Q due to the spy gadgets he built for the Special Operations Executive.

The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British World War II organization formed in 1940 for the purpose to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe (and later, also in occupied Southeast Asia) against the Axis powers, and to aid local resistance movements.  Few people were aware of SOE’s existence. It was also known as “Churchill’s Secret Army” or the “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare”.  After the war, the organization was officially dissolved on 15 January 1946. A memorial to SOE’s agents was unveiled in October 2009 on the Albert Embankment by Lambeth Palace in London.

Fraser-Smith’s spy gadgets were called Q-devices, after the Royal Navy’s World War I Q-ships. In the Fleming novels there are frequent references to Q and Q Branch with phrases like “see Q for any equipment you need” (Casino Royale) and “Q Branch would handle all of that” (Diamonds Are Forever), with a reference to “Q’s craftsmen” in From Russia, with Love.

When it comes to the spy game, your success depends on many things and for James Bond, one of those things was that he depended on Q.

Please enjoy these 30 Q moments in James Bond film history (two parts)

 

2019 #AtoZChallenge – My Literary BFF #HarryPotter

MY LITERARY BFF

HARRY POTTER

Throughout the month of April, you can catch up on my posts for this year’s challenge as well as all my alphabet offerings from previous years on my Blogging from A to Z page HERE.

When I read a great novel or a series of novels, sometimes I wish I could step into the book and join the world experienced by the characters. I just know that if I were there, I’d feel at home and contribute positively to the plot. I think it is those characters that keep me returning to works by the same author and even read those same novels over and over again.  For this year’s challenge, I plan to visit those characters we all know and love.  Those characters that we want to step off the page because we know that if they did, we’d be best friends forever.  Today, please meet Harry Potter.

As I mentioned in my post about Hermoine Granger, billions of people from around the world have read and loved the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.  Since 1998, the characters from J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world have taken on the novel reading world and we, myself included, have gladly been swept up in its phenomenon.  September of last year marked the 20th Anniversary of this wonderful series of novels.  Among these characters is the title character Harry Potter whom many of us would welcome as a friend.

Harry James Potter, the protagonist of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series was born on July 31, 1980 to parents, James and Lily Potter. Those are facts but to both the widzarding and muggle worlds, Harry Potter is The Boy Who Lived, singled out by Lord Voldemort at birth to be his greatest rival, and our hero.  Before his eleventh birthday, Harry would probably describe his life as desperate and himself as just plain Harry.  It is when he turns eleven and is accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that his life is changed forever.  It is there that he is taken under the wings so to speak of headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.

It is there that he makes the greatest friendships of his life, Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger.

It is there that Harry learns that he is famous in the wizarding world.  A fame that he never knew in his eleven years. That fame has his fate tied with Lord Voldemort, the internationally feared Dark Wizard and the reason, Harry is an orphan.

When it comes to school work, we find our hero is not necessarily the smartest student and certainly a student who doesn’t apply himself 100% but we find him to be loyal and inquisitive.  The fact that he isn’t great at everything, makes him real to the reader.  It is his loyalty and inquisitiveness that have him almost falling into greatness.  The Harry Potter series is about many things but chief of them is good versus evil and our friend Harry is caught up in this struggle in each novel.

 

 

2019 #AtoZChallenge – My Literary BFF Isaac Bell

MY LITERARY BFF

ISAAC BELL

Throughout the month of April, you can catch up on my posts for this year’s challenge as well as all my alphabet offerings from previous years on my Blogging from A to Z page HERE.

When I read a great novel or a series of novels, sometimes I wish I could step into the book and join the world experienced by the characters. I just know that if I were there, I’d feel at home and contribute positively to the plot. I think it is those characters that keep me returning to works by the same author and even read those same novels over and over again.  For this year’s challenge, I plan to visit those characters we all know and love.  Those characters that we want to step off the page because we know that if they did, we’d be best friends forever.  Today, please meet Isaac Bell.

Clive Cussler Isaac Bell Adventure Series

For my daily commute to work, I enjoy many audiobooks.  I find them very entertaining.  Recently I’ve had the pleasue of enjoying my commute with a series of novels by Clive Cussler about a detective.  Isaac Bell is the main character in the series. The lean, blonde-haired man is the chief investigator (for most of the novels and chapters) for the VanDorn Detective agency, based loosely on the US Pinkertons. The Van Dorn detective agency is headed up by Joseph (Joe) VanDorn, an Irishman most recently from Chicago.  Though his work takes him all over the country by train or the world by ship, Isaac Bell’s headquarters is n NYC in the Knickerbocker Hotel.

Knickerbocker Hotel. Image obtained from the facebook page of Isaac Bell (a page by Clive Cussler)

Isaac Bell is the son of Ebenezer Bell and grandson of Isaiah Bell, two fictional prominent Boston bankers. He gets married to then filmmaker Marion Morgan in The Thief. Bell had met and become romantically involved with Ms. Morgan in the very first novel in the series, The Chase.  The Bell novels are usually set in the early twentieth century, and involve many of the technologies slightly ahead of the time the novels are set in, including telegraph, early flying machines and cars, dreadnought battleships, trains, radio, and early submarines.  Isaac was just ten minutes late (in the timeline of the novels) to apprehend a fleeing Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.

Although the storylines are exciting from start to finish, it is the history in these novels that peaks my interest.  Everything you ever wanted to know about early twentieth century trains, weapons, crime, automobiles, filmmaking, communication and good old fashioned detective work, this series of novels is for you.

Isaac Bell Adventure Series in publishing order

  • The Chase (2007)
  • The Wrecker (2009)
  • The Spy (2010)
  • The Race (2011)
  • The Thief (2012)
  • The Striker (2013)
  • The Bootlegger (2014)
  • The Assassin (2015)
  • The Gangster (2016)
  • The Cutthroat (2017)

Isaac Bell Adventure Series in chronological order

  1. [1902] The Striker (Sites say this is first in story development)
  2. [1905] The Assassin
  3. [1906] The Chase
  4. [1906] The Gangster
  5. [1907] The Wrecker
  6. [1908] The Spy
  7. [1910] The Race
  8. [1910] The Thief
  9. [1911] The Cutthroat
  10. [1921] The Bootlegger

 

#AtoZChallenge 2019 Tenth Anniversary badge